Thursday, January 22, 2015

January 22, 2015 - kicker Colton Lichtenberg commits"Lichtenberg, a senior kicker from Savannah Country Day School in
Savannah, Georgia, is the first and only kicker to commit to Boston
College in the 2015 class.... Colton Lichtenberg was rated the tenth-best kicker in the Kohl’s
Professional Camps’ kicking and punting division.... in 2013, Lichtenberg made 31 of 32 extra points,
and in 2014, he connected on all 27." - Soaring to Glory

January 13, 2015 - Coleman Hutzler named special teams coordinatorHutzler, who will also work with the SAM
linebackers, was most recently a member of the University of Florida
staff in 2014.Hutzler is reuniting with head coach Steve Addazio and offensive line coach Justin Frye, who worked on the Florida staff in 2010. He replaces Sean McGowan, who will not return for the 2015 season.... Hutzler was the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach
at New Mexico in 2012-13.... In 2010-11, Hutzler worked under special teams coordinator and
linebackers coach DJ Durkin in Gainesville. Before that, he was an
assistant to co-defensive coordinators Ron Lynn and Andy Buh and to
Durkin at Stanford in 2008-09." - EaglesOctober 18, 2014 - punter Alex Howell in loss to Clemson"Had Boston College won Saturday’s ACC Atlantic Division matchup against Clemson at Alumni Stadium — and not the other way around — senior punter Alex Howell would’ve been a strong choice for the O’Rouke-McFadden leather helmet trophy, given to the game’s MVP. The honor went to Clemson quarterback Cole Stoudt.
Amid a defensive struggle, Howell stood out for BC, averaging 50.1 yards on 10 punts, including a long of 57 yards and another that was downed at the Clemson 3. Howell’s counterpart for Clemson, Bradley Pinion, had a 41.8-yard average on 10 punts and a long of 55 yards.
'It’s great to have a good game, but then again, it’s a loss,' said Howell.
'You don’t play football for your own glory. You play to win the game with your teammates. So it kind of takes away from it all. Then again, it’s something to look forward to and build on for next week'." - Boston Globe

October 6, 2014 - Mike Knoll to start at kicker"On Monday, Boston College Eagles head football coach Steve Addazio officially announced a switch to Mike Knoll as the team’s regular placekicker. Knoll, one of the top kicking recruits in the nation for the 2014 high
school class, will make his NCAA debut on Saturday in a crucial game
against NC State in Raleigh.... The true freshman replaces the duo of Alex Howell and Joey Launceford,
the former of whom went 3-for-7 on field goals over the first five
games of the 2014 season, with the latter having two extra-point misses.
Howell will remain in a primary role as the team’s punter; kickoffs are
unclear." - Soaring to Glory

August 25, 2014 - kicker/punter Alex Howell"He’s got some length and he’s done well in camp,' coach Steve Addazio said of
Howell. 'But in somewhat competitive situations here, we’ve got to get
his accuracy up, because that’s when it matters. He’d done a good job
kicking off, his punts have been pretty good, but his accuracy in
competitive situations has got to be better.' Howell gave a glimpse of that in BC’s final scrimmage of preseason
camp last Wednesday when he went 1 for 3 on field goals. He missed a
49-yard attempt wide right from the left hash, came back to covert a
24-yarder, and later missed a 41-yard try. 'The first [attempt] was 49 and it’s a long field goal, but you have
to make it,' said Howell, whose personal best was a 51-yard field goal
as a senior at West Florence High. 'I mean, when your number’s called,
you’ve got to step up and you’ve got to play with competitive
excellence. That’s what it is. I missed [the 49-yarder] and it’s not going to help the team out, so I’ve got to make that play'.... 'He attacked every field goal like it was a game-winner,' said
Howell of Nate Freese. 'He didn’t care if it was even a 20-yard PAT.' Howell said he will take the same approach this season as he attempts
to handle all three duties for the Eagles: field goals, kickoffs, and
punts. 'All in all, camp went pretty well,'’ Howell said. 'I grew up a lot
and I’m ready to play this year and I’m ready to help the team'." - Boston Globe

August 17, 2014 - summer specialists"Senior Alex Howell will handle the punting, but there’s a battle
between Howell, freshman Mike Knoll, and senior Joey Launceford replace
to Nate Freese as the kicker. And none have shown the consistency Freese did
in making 70 of 81 career field goal attempts. 'We haven’t made any decisions yet,' said special teams coach
Sean McGowan. 'Between Alex, he’s doing a lot of things well, Mike Knoll
has been doing some good things, Joey Launceford on some specific
things has been doing some good stuff. We’re just kind of letting it all
sort out, and really putting a lot of credence into these next 10 days
to nail down who’s going to be doing what'." - Patriot Ledger

January 31, 2014 - kicker Will Mahar commits"Boston College apparently has landed a second kicker for the recruiting class of 2014. Rochester, NY native Will Mahar has committed to the Eagles according to local papers and the young man's twitter page: Aquinas' traditional local rival also has a specialist heading to Division I. McQuaid kicker Will Mahar has committed to Boston College. Mahar was a first-team all-state pick in Class A in 2013 and also stood out at wide receiver for the Knights." - BC Interruption